RELIGIOUSPHOBIA IN KERALA TELEVISION NEWS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Scholarly Research Journal for Humanity Science & English Language, Online ISSN 2348-3083, SJ IMPACT FACTOR 2017: 5.068, www.srjis.com PEER REVIEWED & REFERRED JOURNAL, APR-MAY, 2019, VOL- 7/33

RELIGIOUSPHOBIA IN KERALA TELEVISION NEWS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS K. Pradeep Ph. D. Assistant Professor and Head, Narayanaguru College of Engineering, Kanyakumari. Abstract The development of television and its news channel is a part of the evolution that brought drastic changes in the socio, political and economic condition of India. People get most of their news from television news channels. India has the unique feature of having news channels in English and regional languages. This study is an attempt to map the religious phobic narration which was employed in the television news content specifically in Kerala. Kerala has reminded one of the cultural and educational pro thinking states in India. In this progressive treasure, Kerala media acclaimed one of the leading news presenters. The development of electronic media itself is a revolution that brought drastic changes in the socio-economic condition of India. From this very respective stance to how Kerala news channel dealing the religious matter in the public sphere is highly questionable. In this very contradictory stance to this study will be trace the religious phobic nature of news presentation by the news caster. This study will undertake the three issues within the frame work of religious phobia. Following study will follow the qualitative discourse analysis. Keywords: Religious phobia, Kerala TV News, Discourse analysis, News Channel.

Scholarly Research Journal's is licensed Based on a work at www.srjis.com Introduction Television news programs serve as important source of information for most Indian about event taking pace all around the world. Since seventies, researches have pointed to lake of balance in news coverage particularly in the news presentation. The news flow and coverage as selected number of news are constantly covered by the most news received limited to coverage. This is preferred on the basis of sensational rather than informative. This is the current contemplation of selection of news in contemporary news channel. “Sensational” is very jiggled term in television news as concern, nowadays this tone has changed its sensations more corner with political rather than religious as concern. Traditionally, sensationalism in the news has been conceived mostly in terms of story content, such as stories about crime, violence, natural disasters, accidents, and fires (Adams, 1978; Slattery & Hakanen, 1994). Accordingly, the contribution of sensationalist news to a democratic society has been criticized (Bernstein; 1992). Contemporary news channels have been repeatedly showcasing the tune of sensational rather than news dissemination. The study will argue that the news worthiness is heavily influence with the Religious phobia. Because every news is channelized within the narrow sense of religious base Copyright © 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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sensation thatâ€&#x;s lead the viewership. In this concern, every media is chasing the religious centric discourses in every day television matters. Media and religion as social institutions of civil society may find themselves in conditions of competition and conflict, as both claim to be value-based referees in public life. However Indian media has been immense interest to establish the news items related to religion especially in Hindu related news items. This are one of the vulnerable and biased attitudes of Indian televisions. This could be seen in Kanjimadathipathi, Kurjith Singh, Nithyanantha, Hadia case, Jalandar Bishop rape case , and the Sabarimala women entry case itself. In all these case media trumps with the sensational coverage of religious news. Mass media specifically Indian television news channel can disseminate information and create awareness but it cannot make recipients accept the message unless they believe it. This kind concern is very bad stance with Indian news sense. The gulf between media emitters and recipients can be attributed not only to what is not comprehended what is not paid attention to (due to recipient's attention being directed towards or drawn to other messages coming from other emitting sources), but also to the explicit rejection of 'what is not shared or believed in' (in situations of firmly rooted beliefs or low credibility)."Credibility is the most precious attribute a medium can have. No matter what their ideological orientation, the mass media's effectiveness in carrying out their mission-whether it is to serve as a watchdog or to mobilise public opinion in support of national development programmes-depends on their credibility. With literacy rates on the rise in developing countries, today's readers, listeners and viewers are looking for accurate and objective information from their newspapers, radio and television" (Ram pal;

1995).

Credibility should be the important aspect in television news but when it comes to the matter of TV rating as concern it seems doesnâ€&#x;t work in the field of professionalism. The source of news and its credibility has added great relevance in the present-day world of information presentation, it is proposed to undertake the present study to assess the status of the religious news representation and its religious phobia in Kerala television news. Television program and its changing faces Indian television celebrated its 59th anniversary Along with soap operas, Indian television has also got flooded with reality shows. Like soap operas, reality shows are also American in origin. The Indianized reality in 2018. These near sixty years can be broadly divided into three phases. The first phase was unto 1983 when the medium focused on education and information to farmers and students. Its reach was confined to few pockets of the country. Copyright Š 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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The second phase is the one in which Doordarshan was the only official channel in the country and had limited broadcasting hours. Unfortunately, involvement of privatization and the entry of private channel now everything change. The programmes were still trying to spread education and information through various genres. Whereas the third phase which is the most important phase in the history of Indian television changed the face of the medium as it broke the traditions by bringing in genres that were purely meant for entertainment. Newspapers have been around for many decades but the news channels in the private sector are less than a decade old. Some like Times Now and CNN-IBN just completed six years of existence. NDTV 24x7 has a twenty-five-year history but as distinct 24-hour news channel it is just 8 years old. This poses a dilemma- How one can jump to the conclusion that one television channel is more credible than the rest. An audience study is the only way to answer this and related questions. Many polls suggest that credibility of media- newspapers and television news channels- is declining. One of the reasons attributed is the concentration of media in the hands of big corporations like News Corp (Ravi ;2015). The dwindling variety in the content is directly proportionate to the declining credibility people perceive in media in the current scenario. In the beginning of news Channel and its ethical stance has been very much concern about credibility and its presentation style in the modern innovation and sophistication probable made contradictory stance of news presentation. This create great impact among people. Religiousphobic nature of news and its Presentation Television has been enactingone of the important informative dissimilation sources in our everyday life. Influence of TV and its impact has been widely discussed and admitted to research in different aspect. However, in the side of news reporting and new persecution in television cross great extent in Indian media domain. This great embark is made possible in the invention of technological innovation and its progress. Kerala has still remained social political cultural, and educational in progressive across in Indian state. In this obvious reason television news and its exclusive news channel are receive very much attention in the media arena. Each and everyday news channels account very informative as well as valid news for the people. But sometimes it creates very ambiguity news for the public,these kinds of news made great trouble in the public sphere. Recent days most of the television channels are change the tone from news information to news discussion. In this regard television screen has beensplintedwith different small screens in the presence of „so calledâ€&#x; resource person. Copyright Š 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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Within the television news discourses multiple people appear on the screen are very common in contemporary news presentation. Unfortunately, they are branded and showcase in the sphere of expert opinion and their view, but many of the time this discussion will be ride with biased. The other important matter is most of the time the news caster had been out of control of their over expression while controlling this out of context follows a technical break. This are the macro as common logic of news caster. As general news caster just givesa chance to establish one person from the tinny screen whether it is relevant or not is not important, here one thing is very important that is he should be a firing brand (emotionally react) that is very concern. Probably the news caster job could be very simple like moderator rather than news caster. Media and religion as social institutions of civil society may find themselves in conditions of competition and conflict, as both claim to be value-based referees in public life. As early religion and media are expanded from a narrower notion of social institutions to a wider concept of domains, they sustain tensions as the domains of evaluating, labelling, measuring, praising and condemning. The “dualistic” approach to media and religion still dominates academic discourse, where both sub-systems are described as “independent and potentially acting independently upon one another” (Hoover, 2006: 8). The “dualistic” approach of competitive institutions is based on functional analysis, because media and religion, according to Stewart M. Hoover, “occupy the same spaces, serve many of the same purposes, and invigorate the same practices in modernity” (Hoover; 2006, 9). Moreover, they are producing and distributing “normativity” – descriptions and patterns of what is good and what is bad – and also monitoring whether social life fits into the normative models they promote. At the same time, media, as well as some other influent actors (mostly of the political domain), are intended to “press out” the religion from public life in situations of conflict and relocate the conflict to “the private walls of bourgeois domesticity, or the interior, silent universe of individual readers”(Stolow; 2005, 120). Historically, the communication of religious content presumes “face-to-face exchange” within interpersonal communication (liturgy, confession, sacraments in Christianity). Technically mediated forms of sacred knowledge transfer and coverage of religious subjects provide additional threats to the content (even the rewriting of Holy Scriptures in medieval monasteries caused a lot of mistakes and misunderstandings). Referring to accuracy in communicating the sacred, Norwegian researcher Knut Lund by reminds us that, “however, distortions and nonCopyright © 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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communication are perfectly possible in close situations as well as when large media are involved� (Lund by; 2006). Recent media technology innovations and the convergence in processes of religious perspective are summarized in two newly published books, both written by Catholics and mostly focused on Catholic reflections and experience. One was published in the USA (Vogt; 2011), the other was printed in Poland (Intern Kosciol; 2011). This provide the very astonishing reality and religious media reproduction. Analysis and Discussion The south India news channel particular the Malayalam news channels are very much expressing and forward to public in the most adverse aspects. The people of Kerala very much involved and expressed positive towards Malayalam television channels, especially each person to a specific news channel. But when it come to the religious matter has been very crucial and vulnerable. In this regard Hadiya (Islam converted lady) and their married issues been considered very gigantic in nature. In this context media has trumps with very complex and also made very problematic news matter in the public domain. About the case is, religious conversion and married by Muslim men and miner girl. Unfortunately, this case has been discussed under the respective Supreme Court. Knowingly or unknowing the media people are never concern this seriousness, every news caster and the response has been presented biased news and provoking cognition among the public. In this case as concern Asianetnews channel arranged aprime-time discussion has been employed with very tactic implementation. The panel members as News caster who coordinate the news programme. The resource persons are Islamic department Professor from University of Kerala, retired high court judge from Kerala, a lawyer who witness the case on court and a police officer. The discussion has been carrying very different way and rise contradictory temper among the resource persons itself. The logic of news narration also own prediction and is very pathetic and biased sense. The other practice is the news caster very consciously provoke them with contradictory thoughts from the live discussion. This kind of news making could exposed the very complex nature of news making and its logic of attractive. This complex sense of news making produce the very competitive as well as the profit centric news engagement the value, ethic is totally suspended. Apart from this logic, the news caster and the resource persons has produced the religious centric complex notion among the public sense. In this kind of discussion create the complex sense of engaging the religious disparity and the complexity of Islamic people existence in India. These kinds of Copyright Š 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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television narration offer the denounced and misrepresented religious notion in the society moreover they trying to equalise the problem of Hindu and Muslim in India. For instance, a conversation from the Kerala University professor who as a resource person from the news hour. In the beginning of the conversation he started with the prise of judiciary and the decision making and the minority as concern in the India judiciary system. Further slowly he moves his communication on the Hindu concern of the Indenisation and comparing the unusual issues with the current case, further very consciously stating the problematic issues like mobile lynching and the beef related issues in the country. This is very complex kind of news miss manipulation in the concern of the so-called expert opinion. In Kerala more than 26. 56 percent of population in Christian, second largest religious community. Every political stance and political progress, they had very important influential factor in Kerala. In this context specific case like Bishop Franko Mullekal sex allegation, is very controversial as well as very sensitive matter in the side of religion. However, these news cover ages create very complex dilemma in the religion and its superior person. Every Christian has been considered this as very shameful act of involvement from the side of religious superior. In this concern this is very sensitive to Christian community. But when it comes in the matter of news for public is highly questionable and unethical. In name covering factual information, news media channels deliberately crossed the ethics of the public believes. In this case the news caster has been involved very strategic manner to employ the religious phobic sphere. Aristotle regarded the speaker as a force as important as the receiver or the message. He observed, "Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible". Here how we can consider reality rather than false conscious employed in the news narration. Our country is democratic country, media should consider as fourth pillar of the democratic society, as well as religious sensitive states as concern media coverage and its point of views are very important to the progress and peace full decorum in the society. In this case media discourses particular in the news caster involvement which employed with different tactics and strategy used to establishment of religious phobic sense among the people. The most discussed sense of logic is widely followed that how the religious superior can involve sex. But all the media has been widely following the almost same logic and this itself viewer to decide, it should be very brutal act from the side of religious identity. At the context how they create discourse to think which is condemn. The other logic is same as early Copyright Š 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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discussed with the „tiny screen‟ media, the screen person‟s opinions and their talk provide very contradictory statement about the concerned issue. There source persons chosen for the discussion is very complex way probably they are firing brand of public discourse. This notion of presenting the expert provide the new dimensions of statement about the issues. Further television news selection, there‟s religious people could accelerate the heated controversy, probably they are within them heated conversation in the sake of credibility and rating, cheated idea which share to the public sense, from this heated conversation to the general viewer pick the constructed reality of knowledge about this the current scenario. The other interesting logic used the media, in every channel have their regular tiny screen intellectual, based on the context of the news they arranged their presence. Particularly from the same religion to the select and allow to more conversation the Christian fellow itself talk vulgarly against their religious believers and practices. This has been creating the very crucial sense of religious practices and the existence. This kind of media creations are very danger in the democratic society. Experiments have proved that a high credibility source is more influential than a low credibility source if source identification is made before the presentation of the message (Mills and Harvey, 1972; Ward and Mc Ginnies, 1974). In this concern of credibility in the Sabarimala women entry news coverage is very complex and difficult to trace the credible as well as value news. The first reason is that media intellectuals who make the issues as problematic commodity from the stance of media, the second how to reveal the reality of source in the concern of news value. In this very problematic situation news channels regular formula is linking with expert opinion in the shadows of multiple screen facility. In the reference of credibility as concern how the news caster presented the credibility is questionable. Most of the news channel follows the issues is to make the public with uncomprehensive stance. Further television news caster was eager to connect this issues as gender equality rather than social tense. Moreover, they compromise with Hindu atrocity, intolerance, problem of law implementation, political strategy and the patriarchal ideological battle. In other sense before starting the discussion the news caster confidently states that this is the atrocity against the women community in Kerala, this kind of subjective point of view is unethical and media biased. News caster is not a moderator this case itself proven that the characteristic jerk of news caster to news moderator this embark is curse of Indian media. The other important point is news caster has been marginalising in the presence of the expert Copyright © 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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opinion. This has been very pathetic as well as very dangerous in the concern of democratic society. Here the news strategy is very interesting which open the new dimensions of religious phobia. This type of new discourse focuses only to create contradictory and ideological stance of third person opinion not in resource person stance. Further the so-called resource person strongly as well as emotionally engaged with the communication and made complex assumption among the people. Here the innocent viewer been confused with the reality in the matter. Conclusion In the name of the credibility and credible sources the news channels arranged the tiny screen recourse person with the newscaster, in this manner of news presentation news channel produce the very complex notions in the public. Especially in the case of religious concern, this religious phobic news discourses is very dangerous in the democratic society. The biased and unethical constrain create the psychological as well as cognitive notions in the individual sense and this kind of religious phobic logic invest in the individual mind as well as create the social commotion in the collective public spheres. Moreover, this discourse making confused and incoherent stringent communication produce the religious phobic transience spread among the public media domain. This religious phobic discourses are highly condemning and monitor with strict and stringent systems need to avoid the religious tensions in the democratic society. References Ahlback,T. (2013). Digital Religion, Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History, Finland. https://www.doria. Buddenbaum, J. (1998)Reporting News about Religion: an Introduction for Journalists. Ames: Iowa State University Press. Griswold, W. (2008). Cultures and Societies in a Changing World. Los Angeles, Pine Forge. Max,H. and Adorno,T. (2008)Dialectic of Enlightenment. Trans. [1944] 1972. Original printing, US. Lundby, K. (2006). Contested Communication. Mediating the Sacred. In Seppanen, J., Lundby, K., Salokangas R. (Eds.). Sumiala- Implications of the Sacred in (Post)Modern Media. Gothenberg. Meyer, B., Moors, A. (2005). Religion, Media and the Public Sphere. Bloomington: Indiana University Press Mitchell, Jolyon, and Owen Gower (eds) 2012 Religion and the News. Farnham: Ashgate. Moses, Paul 2005 The First Amendment and the Falun Gong. In Claire H. Badaracco (ed.), Quoting God: How Media Shape Ideas about Religion and Culture; pp. 67–78. Waco: Baylor University Press. Morgan, D. (1999). Visual piety: Ahistory and theory of popular religious images. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Hoover, S. (2006). Religion in the Media Age. London: Routledge. Copyright Š 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies

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